Visitor information

Roll up your sleeves at the Ferrodrom Science Centre!

The story and the science behind the UNESCO World Heritage Völklingen Ironworks in the Saarland are brought to life at the Ferrodrom Science Centre, which gives visitors of all ages the chance to learn about the four elements of fire, water, earth and air.

Some of the adventures here are on a large scale, including one of the largest fire tornadoes in the world at the entrance to the centre, some are on a tiny one, looking at the surface of iron and steel with a video microscope. But any visit to the Ferrodrom Science Centre is guaranteed to be both exciting and educational. The history of iron is explained through the medium of the four elements and using more than 100 exciting interactive exhibits. This includes a giant wind machine that you can set to as strong a wind speed as you can handle! The UNESCO World Heritage Völklingen Ironworks is a prime example of industrial heritage and technology and has more than 6,000 metres of visitor trails. High-calibre exhibitions, presentations and the Ferrodrom Science Centre itself form a cultural hub for the 21st century on a site covering 600,000 square metres. Mastery of the basic elements of fire, water, earth and air is required to make good iron. Here you have a chance to roll up your sleeves and learn as you go!

Highlights

In the Ferrodrom's Möller hall, with its focus on the four elements, you discover the roles played by fire, water, earth and air in an ironworks. You get to make your own whirlwinds and watch bubbles and clouds race in a sphere. The ghostly fog screen turns water into fire. The giant ice cube makes water as hard as stone. Can sand become liquid? In the ironworks laboratory the whole family learn about the magical world of magnetism. Amazing experiments unlock the secrets of iron and steel, but that's by no means all there is to discover: you can watch iron rusting using a powerful microscope, see how material is moved around the ironworks with conveyor belts and lifts, have fun on the nine-metre chute and set a huge water wheel in motion. But how does it all work? On the Ferrodrom transport circuit, the mystery can be solved in an entertaining way: highlights include the fire tornado that goes off every ten minutes, a magical block of ice, the bubble machine and a push-button wind tornado.